Writer: David Pearson
Director: Alice Hamilton
A gentle play about photography and feckless fathers, perhaps, isn’t what we need right now. Although finely acted by Gerald Horan and Charlie Beck, Firewing, named after a rare Siberian bird, is pretty low-stakes, and the discussions on the ethical role of the photographer are overly familiar.
Horan is ageing nature photographer Tim, who now seems to spend most of his time in a bird hide overlooking a lake. Beck is 22-year-old Marcus who’s successfully applied to spend a weekend with Tim to learn some photography skills. From the many applications that Tim received, Marcus was selected because of his photograph of a sea eagle that he took in his early teens. Tim is amazed that this photograph is so sharp and professional, considering Marcus used a simple kids’ camera. We all know where this is going, but writer David Pearson, in his debut play, withholds this rather predictable secret until the last third of the play. The other reveals are equally uninspiring.
After some opening remarks about tea-making and the state of the toilet, it’s clear that Tim and Marcus will struggle to spend a weekend together in the hide. Marcus, whom Beck plays much younger than 22, is lazy and rude. It’s a surprise that Tim doesn’t give him his marching orders almost immediately. We don’t discover why Tim is determined to suffer the discourteous manner of his incompetent protégé until later. However, Marcus’s reason for being there is disclosed earlier, and it’s no surprise to find out that learning how to take pictures is not at the top of his list.
Director Alice Hamilton is in no hurry, and so Firewing is a long 90 minutes, especially when time is wasted in preparing the stage – Good Teeth’s convincing set replete with running water to represent the lake – for an unnecessary flashback at the tail end of the play. It might explain Tim’s commitment to helping out disadvantaged youth from his neighbourhood, but it’s something that we probably don’t need to see, when instead it could have cropped up in the conversations between the two oddly paired men.
There are a few funny lines to temper the story of second chances, but unfortunately, there are also two moments of unintentional comedy, both involving a certain element of Tim’s future, which are a little on the nose. Still, Jamie Platt’s shimmering light design provides some sense of gravity to the end of Tim’s career.
Runs until 23 May 2026
